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A protester throwing a firework during a protest last night against the arrest of Istanbul's Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu Alamy

Jailed Istanbul mayor says he will fight on as police arrest hundreds of supporters

The rulings came after a fourth night of street protests across Turkey that descended into heavy clashes with riot police in Istanbul and the capital Ankara.

ISTANBUL’S EMBATTLED OPPOSITION mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, vowed on Sunday to fight on after a court formalised his arrest – a move that has sparked Turkey’s worst street unrest in more than a decade.

Four days after he was detained up in a pre-dawn raid by hundreds of police, a court formally placed Imamoglu under arrest in a graft investigation, one of his lawyers told AFP, vowing to appeal.

But the court decided against formalising his arrest in a separate “terror” probe, he said.

The rulings came after a fourth night of street protests across Turkey that descended into heavy clashes with riot police in Istanbul and the capital Ankara, AFP correspondents said.

The court’s decision came as the main opposition CHP party cast its ballots in a long-planned primary to elect Imamoglu as its candidate in the 2028 presidential election.

Observers said it was the looming primary that triggered the move against Imamoglu, widely seen as the only politician capable of challenging President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

riot-police-use-pepper-spray-to-clear-a-protester-during-a-protest-against-the-arrest-of-istanbuls-mayor-ekrem-imamoglu-in-istanbul-turkey-saturday-march-22-2025-ap-photokhalil-hamra Riot police use pepper spray to clear a protester during a protest Alamy Alamy

The move against him sparked protests that quickly spread from Istanbul to at least 55 of Turkey’s 81 provinces, with police arresting 323 people overnight, officials said.

In a post on X shortly after the court decision, Imamoglu vowed to fight on, urging his supporters not to lose heart.

“We will erase this black stain on our democracy,” he wrote in a message transmitted via his lawyers.

“I will not be bowed.”

‘They have stolen our vote’

As the court drama played out, voters flocked to ballot boxes in 81 cities, after the CHP opened up the poll to anyone who wanted to participate.

Voting began at 8am (5amGMT) and was to end nine hours later.

Several Istanbul polling stations were packed with people, according to AFP correspondents and footage posted on social media.

“Whenever there’s a strong opponent (to Erdogan), they are always jailed,” said 29-year-old voter Ferhat, who declined to give his surname.

“There is a dictatorship in Turkey right now, nothing else. It’s politics in name only,” he told AFP near City Hall.

Many people expressed anger over the move against a mayor whom they had elected.

“They have literally stolen our vote. It brings tears to my eyes,” 70-year-old Sukru Ilker told AFP.

Ilker said protesters didn’t want “to confront the police” but only to protect the candidate the city had voted for.

Ayten Oktay, a 63-year-old pharmacist, said there was no going back.

“Now the Turkish nation has woken up. The protests will definitely continue after this. We will defend our rights until the end,” she said.

riot-police-stand-guard-during-a-protest-against-the-arrest-of-istanbuls-mayor-ekrem-imamoglu-in-istanbul-turkey-saturday-march-22-2025-ap-photofrancisco-seco Riot police stand guard during a protest Alamy Alamy

‘A great awakening’

Casting her ballot early on Sunday, Dilek Kaya Imamoglu urged the country to show its support for her husband.

“We are casting our vote to support President Ekrem – for democracy, justice and the future,” she wrote on X, vowing to “never give up”.

Earlier, she met him briefly at the court with CHP leader Ozgur Ozel.

Ozel said the mayor was in good spirits.

“He said this process had led to a great awakening for Turkey, which he was happy about,” said Ozel, who put Saturday’s turnout at the Istanbul protest at more than half a million.

Riot police used rubber bullets, pepper spray and percussion grenades on the Istanbul protesters. In Ankara, they also used water cannon.

Saturday night’s protests began shortly after Imamoglu was taken to the courthouse to answer prosecutors’ questions relating to the two probes.

Questioning began at 7:30pm and ended 12 hours later, his legal team said.

The move against Imamoglu has badly hurt the lira and caused chaos on Turkey’s financial markets, where the benchmark BIST 100 index closed nearly eight percent lower on Friday.

The unrest has spread rapidly, despite a ban on protests in Turkey’s three largest cities and a warning from Erdogan that the authorities would not tolerate “street terror”.

© AFP 2025

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    Mute Brian Hunt
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    Mar 23rd 2025, 4:14 PM

    A bit like here, government deciding who’ll run for President!

    55
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    Mute lastfewchocices
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    Mar 23rd 2025, 4:32 PM

    @Brian Hunt: be grand sure. We have Andrew Tayto for pres now

    21
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    Mute Louis Jacob
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    Mar 23rd 2025, 3:58 PM

    All these thugs have a good friend in the White House now… But it always ends the same way for them. And it’s coming to all of them. Hard to see in the world at the moment, but The Emperor always will have no clothes.

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    Mute William Jennings
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    Mar 23rd 2025, 3:50 PM

    Erdogan is a gangster and a thug. It’s pretty clear at this point that he’s ruling like a dictator and Western nations should treat him as such. This latest jailing of a major political rival and the clamping down of protestors is just the latest incident of democratic erosion in Turkey. He recently abolished the position of Prime Minister and made him the sole leader of the branches of the Turkish government. In the last three years alone, over 160 media outlets have been shut down and thousands of journalists have been jailed. He appointed his son-in-law as Finance Minister to help him funnel more money to his various offshore bank accounts. This guy should be sanctioned and Turkey should be kicked out of NATO. It’s unacceptable how we treat Erdogan as just another normal leader.

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    Mute Housing Hunger Games
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    Mar 23rd 2025, 4:07 PM

    @William Jennings: hardly surprising when the party is Far Right which always leads to a dictatorship and imprisoning political enemies

    64
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    Mute William Jennings
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    Mar 23rd 2025, 4:30 PM

    @Housing Hunger Games: Erdogan’s political trajectory is not as simple as a left-right dichotomy. He’s an authoritarian Islamist and funds extremist groups like Hezbollah and Hamas. The strain of populism that he practices takes policy positions from both left and right. His economic policy is left-wing and this is what has caused the Turkish economy to collapse. Widespread price controls have been implemented on most goods and subsides exist in nearly every sector. Key industries have been nationalised and Erdogan continually increases pensions to buy votes in an unsustainable manner. Interest rates have been capped, leading to cheap credit flooding the economy which has caused hyperinflation. The ironic thing is that you’re exactly like him in your beliefs, but you failed to see this!

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    Mute William Jennings
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    Mar 23rd 2025, 4:45 PM

    @Billy Meehan: You think that Erdogan is a great leader? Inflation is completely out of control and has hit over 50%. Unemployment is at nearly 10% and youth unemployment is at 17%. The Turkish Lira is in complete free fall and has lost nearly 1250% of its value since 2015. The exchange rate used to be 1 USD = 2 Turkish Lira. Now it’s 1 USD = 27 Turkish Lira. Erdogan has embezzled billions and has jailed over 10,000 for “insulting” him because people dared to point out factual information. I’d love to know how you could possibly defend Erdogan as a leader considering he has dismantled democracy in Turkey and has pummelled the economy into the ground.

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    Mute P. V. Aglue
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    Mar 23rd 2025, 4:57 PM

    @William Jennings: like Europe need a wave of Turkish migrants

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    Mute Eugene Burns
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    Mar 23rd 2025, 3:12 PM

    Jeez, where am I going to go for my hair transplant and new teeth now!

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    Mute Luas Vuitton - Penneys Drag Queen
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    Mar 23rd 2025, 5:59 PM

    @Eugene Burns: is that you, Keith Duffy?

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    Mute Oh Mammy
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    Mar 23rd 2025, 2:42 PM

    Emboldened by the moves in Romania, would be my guess.

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    Mute Tomas Barrett
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    Mar 23rd 2025, 2:51 PM

    @Oh Mammy: probably not, I don’t think this fella propped up by the Russians.

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    Mute Oh Mammy
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    Mar 23rd 2025, 3:08 PM

    @Tomas Barrett: if a government can interfere in a democratic election why can’t he?

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    Mute P. V. Aglue
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    Mar 23rd 2025, 2:46 PM

    Was he called a paddy or a mick?

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    Mute Ethan
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    Mar 24th 2025, 2:35 AM

    Meh don’t care.

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    Mute Tom D
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    Mar 25th 2025, 1:45 PM

    @Ethan: just enough to bother commenting though

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    Mute Luas Vuitton - Penneys Drag Queen
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    Mar 23rd 2025, 6:00 PM

    Send in Conor Lenihan, expert on regional matters and im negotiating.

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